Crying Uncle Bench

After a week of parking my car in the driveway because my woodworking project had taken over the garage, I made myself the Crying Uncle Bench.

I’ll spare you all the many frustrations of this project that had me crying uncle (Why did I think this would be easy?) and share a few things I learned along the way:

* This post is helpful for painting furniture and the blog itself is just incredibly inspiring.

* Just because Ana White makes it looks so easy to build beautiful furniture (really beautiful furniture) doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy for me.

* Just like sewing is much more fun with the proper tools (sewing machine, cutting mat, rotary cutter etc), working with wood would be more fun with the proper tools (table saw, mitre saw, gigantic workbench, and permanent shop like Norm Abrams’).

* Turned bench legs can be purchased at the hardware store. Cool, huh?

* Corner plate hardware rarely works the way it’s supposed to – probably the most frustrating part of this project.

* Using the proper paint is apparently important (at least that’s what the lady and the paint store told me).

* Using the proper primer is important too (at least that’s what my paint told me when it didn’t want to stick to the primer).

* Checking frequently that your project is square doesn’t guarantee that things will square up like they’re supposed to.

So there you have it, the Crying Uncle Bench, a bench that will have it’s final home in the upstairs living area. I picked the paint color for an interior door that I eventually want to paint. Trying it out on the bench confirmed how much I like it. Crying Uncle looks nice in our bedroom, but is a safety hazard because its in the area where they boys like to spar in the dark with their light sabers. Yep, in the dark – I’ve sparred with them, and it’s scary. If Crying Uncle remains in our bedroom, I guarantee we will have crying children.

Ha! If I could whip out a secretary, I’d be making all my furniture! I need some more practice. I’d love to make a bookshelf, or maybe even a headboard. I’d have to get some more practice though. Maybe when the kids are grown and gone and I have more time… 🙂

wowzers–i love it! love how it matches your bedspread too. why don’t you institute the no kids in the master bedroom rule? that would solve so many problems. (not that we have that rule going on here).

That would be a nice rule, but then the kids wouldn’t have any light-saber-dueling area. It’s the only place in the house where they can swing those things without breaking anything, except eachother. 🙂

Neat. I think I will try it. I have made many bookcases but have been nervous about a bench. The boys’ bookcase is “burnt peanut red.” What is the color name of your bench? It goes so nice with your quilt. (We have swords…boys are great!)

This is such a timely post! I’m also embarking on refinishing and painting some furniture – most notably a rocking chair and chest-of-drawers. You mean to tell me that it isn’t EASY?? And here I thought I might just breeze through it…darnit. =) But I love that you have a list of things you learned, so mayhaps I will be able to benefit from your hard work. The bench is LOVELY and the color is perfect. And you built it all on your own? Way to go! I am very impressed. =)

You know, I think it would be so much easier if I took a class. If you’re anywhere close to your Grandpa, maybe he can teach you. That would be so cool. I’m jealous just thinking about being around all the right tools and learning to do things the right way…

Craft Apple

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, right? Well, crafting is my apple. It's what I do to maintain my sanity while taking care of my family. I homeschool my three boys, ages 12, 13, and 14), am a quilter, a bagaholic, and a pattern designer.